Posted on 01/06/2008 5:36:14 PM PST by jdm
Bill Clinton's new brief was to make the case for his wife Hillary as a woman of action and experience "who gets things done".
But he could not stop himself drifting back to his years in the White House and the glory days of his 1992 campaign. The more he talks, the greater the danger is that he harms Mrs Clinton's chances by focusing on the past when voters are looking for change and highlighting his star power compared to her own plodding style.
Seven years after he handed over the presidency to George W. Bush, Mr Clinton can still make a persuasive case. He is now more bleary-eyed old sage, however, than the fresh-faced "Comeback Kid" of four elections ago when he fought back in the New Hampshire primary and went on to victory.
The veteran warrior was still able to take some shots at his wife's nemesis Barack Obama, suggesting he was incapable of delivering on his lofty rhetoric. "Do you want a feeling of change or do you want the fact of change?" he asked the crowd. "Do you want words that sound good or action that changes your life for the better?"
He knew though that Mr Obama had just drawn a wildly enthusiastic crowd of more than 2,500 in Nashua while Mrs Clinton's rally in Penacook at the same time had drawn just 800. About 500 were crammed into a school gymnasium for Mr Clinton's event.
As he waxed nostalgic about his time in the White House, it was almost as if Mr Clinton sensed that the political dream he and his wife had shared for perhaps a decade of her returning to his old stamping ground was slipping away.
"Just think what it's like to be president," he mused. "They play a song every time you walk in the room - 'Hail to the Chief'. I was completely lost for three weeks after I left the White House. Nobody ever played a song any more.
"Washington DC is the second most congested city in America. But the president never waits in traffic. He just slips along in that bullet-proof limo. You live in America's best public housing. No commute to the most famous office in the world and your airplane is so cool they make movies about it."
The podium at Souhegan High School was decorated with a huge "Hillary for President" sign. Above it, in an unfortunate juxtaposition, was a large girls' soccer banner declaring: "Runner-up".
Even when he made a point about the former First Lady's dedication and staying power, she was merely a footnote in an anecdote about himself.
"I remember at the end of my campaign 15 years ago," he said "I gave a speech in Dover when I lost my normal constraints and started talking in the foreign language of my native land Arkansas. I said that if you elected me I would be with you until the last dog died.
"That's the kind of speech I gave when I was tired. I tell you that because that's the kind of person she is. She will be with you until the end."
Several of those watching indicated they believed that New Hampshire could well be the end for Mrs Clinton. Scott Rabiet, 45, a museum exhibits designer, had seen Mr Obama before the Bill Clinton event day and had been struck by the contrast.
"What I heard at the Obama event was an articulate vision for where this country ought to go," he said. "What I saw here was an articulate set of policy proposals....Obama does it for me. Hillary makes a great senator."
The contrast between Mrs Clinton and her husband also worked against the former First Lady, he added. "Hillary suffers by comparison. The guy's a natural. Hillary's not. That's obvious."
Dave Callahan, 49, a jewellery importer, said he respected Mrs Clinton's experience but worried about the legacy of the partisan warfare of the 1990s. "The big bad side of it is Hillary's just one more Clinton battle and all the baggage that brings."
Bill IS Hillary’s limelight. She’s like his stepmother that always gets in the way.
Yes, for Bill, being president was all about the perks. Which may have been a good thing. If he had been a principled leftist, who knows what additional harm he might have been able to inflict!
Bill never got more than 43% of the vote.
That’s just not true about Bill. It’s a wonderful description of somebody, but not Bill.
Serioulsy. Am I living in Bizzaroland? Everyone has conceded that "Hillary has the experience."
***I still remember the first time I remember seeing the clintons on TV. hillary was talking about how his indiscretions didn’t matter. They, as a couple, creeped me out. They still do.***
The first time I saw Hillary was when she was on television. She was saying that they had a ‘SMALL” problem with their marriage but it was solved. She was talking about his long affair with Gennifer Flowers, and calling it a “small” problem. I was just sitting there saying, “What I see before me on TV is a woman who will tell ANY lie to become the wife of the next President.”
Steal enough furniture to furnish two homes?
Bill IS sabotaging the hag....Magic Johnson....P. Diddy?? What are they THINKING??
Once she drops out of this race I give their marriage 6 months.
The Dims don’t want him either. They defended him once but given an alternative they are finished with that “family”.
Pray for W and Our Troops
"I remember at the end of my campaign 15 years ago," he said "I gave a speech in Dover when I lost my normal constraints and started talking in the foreign language of my native land Arkansas. I said that if you elected me I would be with you until the last dog died.
"That's the kind of speech I gave when I was tired. I tell you that because that's the kind of person she is. She will be with you until the end."
Refences to Bill = 11
References to Hillary = 1
sorry, Hillary gets 2
“Your airplane...”?
Hey you POS traitor! My tax dollars paid for it and the operation & maintenance of it still. It was not your plane any more than the things you and your trashy wife stole when you left that ‘public housing’.
Go away and shut up!
They can’t divorce. They’d be forced to testify against each other if they did. Picture them hating each other for the rest of their lives.
What a great bumper sticker!
Not as long as there's a bunch of super delegates bought and paid for by Senator Clinton.
She's in this to the convention come hell or high water.
in the morning???lol
“About 500 were crammed into a school gymnasium for Mr Clinton’s event.”
An article about the same subject, on another thread, stated there were 250 people in the gym, which was about 1/3 of capacity, and that people were getting up and walking out during Bill’s speech.
Boy, these ‘professional’ journalists impress me with their validation of information before going to press.
I guess that this ‘journalist’ was ‘re-reporting’ and wasn’t actually ‘on-site’ for the speech.
“The big bad side of it is Hillary’s just one more Clinton battle and all the baggage that brings.”
Spot on. From a Democrat.
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